Columnist To Receive Award

CENTRAL FLORIDA - The Area - In Brief

SARASOTA - Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper columnist Art Buchwald is best known for his humor, yet the 78-year-old will be honored next week for his work combating the darker side of his personality.

Buchwald will be honored Jan. 12 by the National Association for Research on Depression and Schizophrenia at a gala in Sarasota for his contribution to help raise awareness for those who suffer from depression by revealing his own battles.

Humor, he said, is a common mask for depression among comics and humorists. In his case, it hid a side so dark that he says he thought about suicide.